


The first time I saw your face I knew I was meant for you

by chalkytalkie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/F, Just lots of fluff really, Kiyoyachi Week, people should write more volleyball lesbians, this ship is seriously so underrated u guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-27 03:40:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2677664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chalkytalkie/pseuds/chalkytalkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Yachi watched Kiyoko talk closely, following her lips form syllabes and the way her eyes looked even larger without her glasses. And after the lights were turned off and they whispered goodnight to each other, Yachi’s dreams would be filled with nonsensical things; little butterflies carrying baskets of lilacs around her head, Kiyoko and her as mermaids riding orcas in the waves of a pink sea and her mother meeting her parents for tea. She didn’t dare mentioning those dreams to anyone."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The first time I saw your face I knew I was meant for you

**Author's Note:**

> Kiyoyachi Week Day 1: Flowers  
> (I'd recommend listening to [this playlist](http://8tracks.com/okarin/all-i-need) while reading, it inspired me a lot when writing this)

Being on the training camp was a lot of work, Yachi noticed almost immediately upon their arrival. While the boys played on the court, the team managers helped the teachers run the camp to the best of their ability – handling the volleyball equipment, cleaning and cooking for the army of hungry, sweaty boys that flooded into the cafeteria 3 times a day occupied most of their schedule. They were only free after dinner – but by then, Yachi would already be so exhausted that the only thing keeping her from flopping face-first on her futon and crashing for 8 hours was the prospect of spending some time talking to Kiyoko before bed.

After overcoming her initial awkwardness (well, most of it), being around Kiyoko without overthinking or getting overwhelmed by her (perfect, stunning) beauty was getting easier. Going about the camp routine was fun with her around – joking with the other managers while mopping the floors, Kiyoko showing her how to flip an omelette, having quiet conversation while doing the dishes. Kiyoko always smiled, even if she didn’t talk much while working – Yachi rambled enough during the day for both of them.

And at night, when they would get ready for bed and Yachi was ready to drop dead in exhaustion, Kiyoko would talk a lot more. She talked about many things: little childhood stories, from when she would capture caterpillars and keep them in a box full of leaves until they became butterflies; anecdotes about the team and how the other senpais were like in their first year; and sometimes even things about herself, such as her favorite color (lilac), favorite animal (it was a tie between orcas and red pandas), how her parents were like (her mother had strongly opposed her leaving her old sports team to become a manager, while her father was very supportive of all her choices).

Yachi watched Kiyoko talk closely, following her lips form syllabes and the way her eyes looked even larger without her glasses. And after the lights were turned off and they whispered goodnight to each other, Yachi’s dreams would be filled with nonsensical things; little butterflies carrying baskets of lilacs around her head, Kiyoko and her as mermaids riding orcas in the waves of a pink sea and her mother meeting her parents for tea. She didn’t dare mentioning those dreams to anyone.

One night, halfway through the last week of camp, Kiyoko was brushing Yachi’s hair (the other managers did that all the time but it made Yachi’s heart do weird jumps whenever Kiyoko brushed the back of her neck by accident), talking very softly about random subjects. Yachi felt guilty for not paying full attention to what she was saying but she was so, so tired, and Kiyoko’s hands felt so nice on her hair, she couldn’t help drifting in and out of consciousness with Kiyoko’s gentle voice in her ears. She could understand a few snippets here or there, but to her it mostly felt like she was floating in a very calm lake, filled not with water, but with Kiyoko’s soft voice surrounding her entire being.

“I really like your hair, Hitoka-chan. It suits you very well” she discerned Kiyoko say. “That hairclip you use sometimes complements it so nicely. You know, the one shaped like a daisy? It’s one of my favorite flowers, by the way”

Yachi smiled drowsily and hummed. Kiyoko’s gentle compliments were so nice to hear – they never failed to cheer her up. She’d make sure to wear that hairclip the next day...

“…Hitoka-chan, did you fall asleep?”

 

* * *

 

Yachi woke up the next morning without actually remembering tucking herself in, or getting into her futon at all. She could recall Kiyoko brushing her hair the night before, and floating in a lake, and dreaming of daisies... Burying her flustered face in her hands, Yachi realized she must’ve fallen deep asleep while Kiyoko was still talking and, on top of that, practically _obligated_ Kiyoko to put her in bed herself. Yachi made a small embarrassed noise into her hands, and immediately heard sheets shuffling and a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you ok?” Kiyoko asked, her sleepy face etched with worry. Yachi’s head turned, stuttering for a few moments. Everyone else around them was still asleep.

“S-Sorry!” Yachi squeaked, quickly covering her mouth. “I’m sorry for sleeping on you! That was so inconsiderate of me!!” she whispered frantically. She only realized she had screwed her eyes shut when she heard a breathy laugh.

“Don’t worry about that, Hitoka-chan” Kiyoko whispered back, a tired but earnest smile gracing her face. “You should’ve told me you were tired, though. I just kept talking and talking…”

“Sorry! I just felt so comfortable, I ended up falling asleep completely on accident...” and before Yachi could contain herself, she was rambling again. “And I really like hearing you talk, Shimizu-senpai! Your voice sounds very nice and relaxing and to me, it’s like a huge lake with flowers and baby orcas and...!”

Her flustered digression had been going on for a while when Yachi finally glanced up and looked into Kiyoko’s face. It was still kind of dark – they had a couple of hours before the reveille call – but she could clearly see that Shimizu was _blushing_. Her cheeks were completely flushed; it wasn’t a look Yachi was accostumed to seeing on her. Kiyoko pointedly avoided her questioning gaze, focusing on Yachi’s backpack lying a few feet from them.

“... Shimizu-senpai?”

“Let’s... go back to sleep” she whispered, shuffling under her covers and still not looking at Yachi. “It’s still too early, and you should rest as much as you can.”

Yachi gaped, watching Shimizu throw the blankets over her head and (presumably) falling asleep again. And even though she tried, she couldn’t go back to sleep, and started to overthink again.

_“Oh no oh no I said something wrong didn’t I did I offend her in some way that wasn’t my intention at ALL does she hate me now will she want to hang out with me after all the things I said I shouldn’t have mentioned the baby orcas I shouldn’t have said anything I’m so dumb oh gOD”_

When the other girls started to wake up a few hours later, Yachi sat up, having not slept a wink. She got up and did her usual morning routine automatically – and, after a moment of hesitation, fastened the daisy hairclip with shaky hands.

 

* * *

 

In contrast with Yachi’s obvious nervousness, Kiyoko acted very naturally during the whole morning. She helped clean up the breakfast table with Yachi the way she always did, even if Yachi was bumping into things – and people – more than usual that day. When the managers were helping the boys with the equipment, Yachi got tangled up in the volleyball net twice because she didn’t pay attention to where she was going, and stray balls would nearly hit her several times because of her delayed reactions. It was almost getting dangerous.

“Yachi-san” Takeda-sensei pulled her aside after she just barely dodged a high-speed ball. “Are you alright? You seem a bit… off, today.”

“I-I’m fine!!” she squeaked, pressing her arms to her sides and bowing her head. “I apologize for bothering anyone!”

Takeda sighed, face still slightly worried.

“Just... Go outside for a bit, Yachi-san. Get some fresh air.” he ushered her out of the gym before anything more serious happened. “Take care, alright?”

Yachi let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding after the door closed behind her and the faint squeaks of sneakers on the court resumed. Her hands were shaking, and her legs didn’t feel like they could support her weight if she tried to walk. Why did she feel so nervous even after seeing Kiyoko was absolutely normal and definitely not hating her like she thought she would? Yachi was still puzzled by Kiyoko blushing the night before. Maybe she was overthinking (as she often did), but there was something else on Kiyoko’s face then, something that wouldn’t be there if she was just blushing out of second-hand embarrassment from Yachi’s rambles. Her head hurt from thinking about it.

Forcing her shaky legs to move, she decided to take a walk to clear her thoughts. Yachi didn’t really want to see anyone at the moment, so she opted for wandering on the building’s surroundings – maybe strolling around some trees and flowers could quell her increasingly confused condition.

After about 30 minutes of circling the building, she made a few important discoveries: firstly, there were many bird’s nests perched on top of trees, and most of them had eggs and a zealous bird-parent taking care of them (she’d make sure to show them to Hinata later, if the boy could stay quiet enough to not bother the poor birds); secondly, there was some sort of footpath coming from the kitchen’s backdoor that she hadn’t noticed before, and couldn’t imagine what it could possibly lead to; and, lastly but most importantly, said footpath led her into a dream.

Walking a few meters on the track and taking a turn right, Yachi found herself on a sea of daisies – ok, maybe not a sea; it was barely a field, really. But there were lots of flowers there anyway, some growing very closely together, others more spread out. There were even some butterflies flying around,  and it was all so bright and pretty Yachi couldn’t help bending down to pick a daisy and tie its stem around her wrist like a bracelet the way she used to when she was a child.

And just like that, a bright idea popped into her head. Yachi checked her phone – it wasn’t too long before lunchtime. With a clear determination that just barely overcame her nervousness, she made her way to the kitchen, glancing down to the flower around her wrist every few seconds.

 

* * *

 

Yachi found herself in the middle of the cafeteria, trying to find Kiyoko in the middle of the dozens of sweaty, loud boys that cluttered the tables. She had a full plate in her right hand, and a plastic bag with boxed orange juice hanging from her elbow – the determination was still there, even if her legs almost gave out when she found Kiyoko sitting with the rest of the managers and staggered in her direction.

“Shimizu-senpai!” Yachi called out her name, making a great effort to keep her voice from shaking. Kiyoko looked up from the onigiri she was about to take a bite of. “L-Let’s have lunch outside!”

Kiyoko blinked twice, a surprised expression taking over her face for a fraction of a second before returning to its usual neutrality. Yachi’s hands were sweaty – she had already made her plate, grabbed the boxed juice and sneaked out an old tablecloth from one of the kitchen’s cupboards, so the rest of her plan depended solely on whether Kiyoko would accept her offer or not.

 “Um, sure. It’s a beautiful day outside, it’ll be nice.” Kiyoko said, standing up gracefully like she always did – although, this time, Yachi had the impression her movements were unusually stiff, and her grip on her plate looked stronger than necessary. Forcing her shaky legs to walk once again, Yachi led Kiyoko out of the cafeteria and through the footpath. The whole course lasted maybe 3 minutes at most, but to Yachi it seemed to stretch for eternity. Kiyoko didn’t ask where they were going, and Yachi was too nervous to turn around to see her face.

A couple of feet from the right turn they had to make, Yachi cleared her throat and tried to not sound as terrifyied as she felt. “I f-found this place today, when Takeda-sensei told me to get fresh air. I... I thought you’d like it! So, yeah...” The rest of the words died on her throat when they turned right and Kiyoko audibly _gasped_.

The small clearing was just like Yachi had found it earlier, with the addition of the old stained tablecloth doubling as a picnic blanket. Having finally gathered the courage to look at Kiyoko, Yachi almost dropped her plate in surprise.

Kiyoko was blushing just like the night before, and now Yachi could see it better than she did back then. Small details, really – the pink blush covered her cheekbones and was quickly spreading to the rest of her face; her eyes were wider than usual, pupils blown out. Yachi could feel her own face heating up at the way Kiyoko mouthed “it’s beautiful” without making any sound.

“So... L-Let’s eat?” Yachi stammered, noticing her arm was kind of hurting now from the heavy plastic bag hanging on her elbow. Kiyoko blinked, the blush slowly fading, and nodded.

 

* * *

 

The improvised picnic went better than Yachi had expected. They ate silently, occasionally sipping juice from their plastic cups, but it didn’t feel at all like Yachi’s nervous silence, or Kiyoko’s enigmatic silence – it was just friendly and comfortable, warm even, like it used to be. After clearing their plates and putting them aside, Yachi started some quiet conversation, and to her it felt like nothing had really changed; Kiyoko still smiled softly hearing her talk, and made comments here or there, and Yachi had almost forgotten what had affected her so deeply that morning.

“Shimizu-senpai” she started, trying to focus on the daisies by her right foot and not on the beautiful girl to her left. “That... Thing. That happened last night. Well, technically this morning. Uhh.” she gulped, fidgeting with the threadbare tablecloth. “Why did you get... L-Like that?”

Kiyoko didn’t say anything for a moment; Yachi heard her body shifting, and turned her head to look. She had brought her knees closer to her chest, crossing her arms and supporting her chin on them. When she spoke, her voice was even softer than usual.

“...Do you really like my voice that much?”

“Uhh. Yes?” it wasn’t the answer Yachi expected at all – but then again, she didn’t know exactly what she had been expecting. “I really do like it.”

“Hmm.”

“I-I mean!! You always compliment me a lot, Shimizu-senpai!” she quickly added, flapping her hands nervously. “You tell me very sweet things all the time, and sometimes it’s a bit embarrassing, since I’m not really used to that, but I really appreciate it! I t-thought... Well, other people compliment you a lot too, mostly the boys, so I thought...” Yachi didn’t really know where she was going with that sentence.

Kiyoko looked at her curiously, and Yachi promptly stopped rambling. She looked mostly amused, but some of the blushing expression of earlier still remained on her face. A small smile tugged the corner of her lips.

“I like your compliments more than other people’s. And I don’t care much for boys, to be honest.” she lowered her gaze to her shoes, as if she was studying them very throughly. “... The truth is, I like you very much, Hitoka-chan.”

And just like that, Yachi’s heart nearly gave out. Her eyes widened while she processed what Kiyoko had just said. Given the circumstances, it was very unlikely she’d meant only ‘like-but-as-a-friend’ – Yachi _knew_ that. But did Kiyoko _really_ mean to say she ‘like-liked’ Yachi? Old plain Yachi? The most beautiful girl in their school, in the entire _planet,_ really had a crush on her? Oh god Shimizu was waiting for an answer and Yachi could only gape wide-eyed like a fish on a fisherman’s boat. It was too much to take in at once.

Kiyoko winced very visibly, but her voice was low and steady when she spoke again. “…Sorry about that. I understand if you don’t--“

“NO!!” Yachi’s sudden outburst startled both of them. Kiyoko waited for her to continue, while Yachi tried to breathe deeply and calm herself down.

“I ... Well, I like you a lot too, Shimizu-senpai...” having finally said that aloud, Yachi felt like a huge weight she hadn’t known she was carrying had been lifted from her shoulders. If she were to be honest with herself, she had liked Kiyoko since she had first joined the volleyball club – before that, even, since she set foot on the court for the first time, standing behind Kiyoko’s back and noticing for the first time how nice her hair smelled, and how she looked even more beautiful when she smiled. Maybe it was the excitement of realizing Villager B could fight too and tutoring Hinata and Kageyama and helping gather donations for the training camp as much as she could that pushed most of these romantic feelings aside for a moment. Only now, after Kiyoko opened herself to Yachi, she understood how deeply her feelings ran.

Kiyoko smiled, the blush returning to her face – Yachi guessed she would be seeing it a lot more from then on. Ignoring the butterflies in her belly, she reached for Kiyoko’s hand, lacing their fingers together. They stayed there in comfortable silence, listening to the gentle breeze through the trees.

After a few minutes, Kiyoko got up, dusted off her pants and offered her hand so Yachi could get up too. “We should head back. Lunch break must be almost over by now.”

Yachi nodded. While they gathered the plates and folded the tablecloth, Yachi picked up a daisy and gestured for Kiyoko do stay still. Brading a small section of her hair, right above her left ear, Yachi tucked the flower in the braid and smoothed it back, taking a step back to see if it looked alright. Kiyoko beamed, and Yachi got on her tiptoes and gave her a spontaneous peck on the lips. She didn’t even really process what she had done before Kiyoko joined their lips a second time, and Yachi felt her smile into the kiss.

And on that moment, and during the walk back to the cafeteria, and while they cleaned and carried equipment and cooked dinner, Yachi felt like she was back at that lake of daisies under a rain of lilacs, with orcas swimming around her peacefully, the soothing feeling enveloping her body and mind.

And Kiyoko was there with her, now.

**Author's Note:**

> Kiyoyachi dragged me out of this huge creative block I've been stuck in for god knows how long. It's the power of queer girls kissing I guess – I'll definitely write more for this ship in the future! There's such a lack of femslash around it's disappointing.  
> Also, English isn't my native language, so if there's anything wrong/weird in this fic please hit me up so I can fix it!  
> http://chalkytalkie.tumblr.com/


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